I previously considered replacing my entire PC, but upgrading the current system seems more practical. I'm now looking for a substantial CPU upgrade that will remain useful for several years. My current system has an Intel Core i7-7700K, a GTX 1080 8GB, and 16GB of DDR4-2666 memory. Since I'm currently on Intel, switching to AM4 would also require buying a motherboard. CPU and motherboard prices are higher where I live, so I'm trying to find the best value without spending more than necessary. I'm mainly interested in gaming, but I'd also like to know if a different option makes more sense for productivity workloads.
5 Answers
For gaming, the Ryzen 7 5700X3D is generally the best final upgrade for an AM4 build if you can find it at a reasonable price. The Ryzen 7 5800X3D is a little faster, but it usually isn’t worth paying much extra for. For heavily threaded work such as rendering or encoding, a Ryzen 9 5900X or 5950X would be a better fit instead. Remember that moving from the 7700K to AM4 also means buying a compatible motherboard, and you should check the board’s CPU support list and required BIOS version before purchasing.
If the 5700X3D and 5800X3D are unavailable or overpriced, the regular Ryzen 7 5700X is still a solid and efficient upgrade. It won’t match the X3D chips in CPU-limited games, but it offers eight cores and should pair reasonably well with a GTX 1080. If the 5700X is close to $200 while the X3D chips cost much more, it may be the more sensible purchase in your region.
The main reason I was considering AM4 is that DDR5 and newer platform parts are much more expensive here. I’ll compare the total cost of an AM4 upgrade against newer platforms rather than looking at the CPU price alone.
Sixteen gigabytes of RAM is still usable for gaming, but 32GB would be a worthwhile quality-of-life upgrade. DDR4-3200 or DDR4-3600 is ideal with Ryzen, although X3D processors are relatively forgiving, so your existing DDR4-2666 kit would not completely undermine the upgrade. Put the money toward capacity first if your budget is limited, and also include a decent tower cooler in the total cost.
Don’t choose AM4 automatically just because you already own DDR4. LGA1700 or a newer platform could offer better performance, but the total cost of the motherboard, CPU, memory, and upgrade path matters. Compare complete platform prices where you live. AM4 is most attractive when you can get a 5700X3D or 5700X cheaply and want to reuse affordable DDR4.
The 5700X3D doesn’t seem to be available locally, and the 5800X3D costs around $390. I can find a Ryzen 7 5700X for about $200. Would that still be a worthwhile upgrade?